Overview
- The consumer price index stayed above 6% year-on-year for a second month, even as the monthly increase was contained at 0.40%.
- Core inflation cooled, with non-food, non-energy inflation at 6.6% in urban areas and 8.2% in rural areas, down from the previous month.
- Food costs were highly uneven, with onions up 40%, chicken up 17%, and eggs up 8%, while tomato prices plunged 53%.
- PBS reported annual food inflation at 5.53%, and smaller monthly gains were recorded for potatoes, fresh fruits, cooking oil, wheat, and milk.
- Business groups pressed for cuts to the 11% policy rate, but the central bank left it unchanged as electricity charges rose 7.1% on the month and sugar was 39% higher than a year earlier.